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Soup Dumplings | Jhol Mo:Mo

Sorry for being a little MIA my friends, life got in the way but I am doing just fine but more importantly lets talk about my recent obsession with soup dumplings. Eating steaming hot dumplings, swimming in tomato based soup is the epitome of comfort food for me. Now that’s one happy situation for your soul but not so much for the skinny jeans. Opps.

Jhol Mo:Mo = Soup Dumpling (Mo:Mo) in Nepali

I often make dumplings (mo:mo) with ground meat (chicken, turkey) and sometimes sneak in greens (spinach, cabbage, mushroom etc) because I am so good at it. On my recent trip to Nepal, I ate something similar and I knew I had to re-create it as soon as possible.

On this dumpling spree, I am keeping things pretty meaty. Ground chicken is mixed in with a healthy dose of chopped green onions, little garlic, few spices and we are off to wrap. Wrapping is probably the trickiest part here..which really is not that tricky. No matter where your wrapping skills stand, make sure the meat is sealed inside the wrapper, I promise it will be all okay.

I like circular, gyoza potsticker wrappers as they keep the outside of the dumplings doughy but in a good way and holds the filling really well. I shared a video tutorial of me wrapping dumplings (like pot stickers) but for this one, I wrapped them into circular balls. Note that circular ones hold less filling than the pot sticker kind.

Soup is easy peasy if you have a pressure cooker. To incorporate a little tanginess, I added tamarind water which I understand is not a pantry staple so using lemon juice is fine as well. My note below explains a little bit in detail.

– In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients for filling except for the wrapper. Add water slowly mixing all the ingredients evenly. Set aside.

– Start your steamer and begin the wrapping process.

– Wet the edges of wrapper with water, put about 1-1.5 teaspoon of filling into the wrapper. Wrap them by pinching the edges together or watch this tutorial.

– Arrange them on a well greased steamer basket. Once the basket is full and the steamer is ready, steam it for about 12-15 minutes. (The dough usually puffs up with a nice gloss and I assume its done)

– For the soup : put the first five ingredients in the pressure cooker, allow it to cook for about 10 minutes (or until it whistles 3-4 times). Remove from heat and allow it to cool.

– Put the remaining ingredients (cilantro & tamarind water) in the blender until its smooth.

– Adjust the taste as needed.

– Pour the soup in a bowl, add steaming hot dumplings and enjoy.

Note:

– Tamarind water is not a MUST ingredient but it gives a peculiar tangyness close to lapsi (Hog Plum, a native fruit of Nepal and I have not seen it in the US) which is normally used in the soup.The amount of tamarind water/lemon juice also varies depending upon type/sweetness of tomato, therefore I recommend adding it at the very end and adjusting it as needed.– Have you had soup dumplings before?

What a lovely and easy way to make soup and dumplings. Although I don’t know how to make many Nepali dishes, I have a Nepali friend who has been teaching me to make chicken the way she does – with lots of spices. I can’t wait to try these dumplings for her and show her how much more I’ve learned about Nepali food. (I even have tamarind, so I’m hoping my dumplings will taste authentic.)